Trafigura has been tied to a string of period charter deals worth at least $131m that has seen the trading giant lock in rates for the crude tankers for at least three years.
Recent weeks have seen the company strike deals for at least three VLCCs, as well as a suezmax newbuilding, according to various broker reports.
Among the charters are three- to five-year fixtures of two Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN) vessels.
TradeWinds reported on 12 November that Trafigura was reported to be the charterer of the Greek shipowner's 299,000-dwt VLCC Ulysses (built 2016) for at least three years at $29,000 per day.
VesselsValue reports that the deal includes an option to extend for a year at $34,000 per day.
Seasure Shipbroking, a sister company to VesselsValue, has since reported that the trader has done a deal on similar terms for the 300,000-dwt Hercules I (built 2017), although Clarksons data shows the charterer as rival Geneva-based trader Mercuria at $26,000 per day.
TEN announced that the two eco VLCCs had been chartered in deals that include profit-sharing provisions, although it did not announce the name of the charterer.
A Trafigura spokeswoman declined to comment for this story, and TEN and Mercuria did not immediately respond.
Meanwhile, Seasure and VesselsValue also report that Trafigura has chartered DHT Holdings' 300,000-dwt DHT Harrier (built 2016) in a three-year deal at $34,000 per day, with an option to extend for a year at $36,000 per day. A DHT executive declined to comment on the reports, and the New York-listed shipowner typically reveals its charter deals when it reports earnings.
All three VLCCs are fitted with exhaust gas scrubbers.
In the suezmax sector Trafigura agreed to pay $27,500 per day for three years with the 158,000-dwt Orient M.
The newbuilding is under construction at New Times Shipbuilding in China and is controlled by Singapore's Singfar International and Sentek Marine, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The ship will have scrubbers installed when it hits the water in January.
The charters are being seen as a positive sign for the tanker market, where average time-charter equivalent earnings for VLCCs in the spot market have been in loss-making territory for virtually all of this year.
Period charter rates, however, have remained steady at or just under $34,000 per day throughout the year amid expectations for stronger spot rates in 2022.
On Friday, Clarksons reported that its assessment for a three-year time charter of a scrubber-fitted VLCC stood at $33,750 per day, just a 0.7% dip from the prior week.
While suezmaxes have experienced periods with earnings above operating costs, their rates have also been moribund.
Crude tanker owners are hoping for a winter spike in rates and widely predicting more sustained recovery later next year.
Maritime Strategies International (MSI), in its monthly tanker report, said VLCC spot rates have been improving in the fourth quarter and are expected to make further gains into the first half of next year.
"Rising regional Covid cases present a risk, but as in other segments, fleet dynamics are now moving in the right direction — the fourth quarter has also seen a resumption in scrapping," the consultancy said.
"With [newbuilding[ deliveries accelerating into the first half of 2021, this pace will have to increase to support further gains."
